


Hometown Heroes

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-10 14:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After graduating high school, Dean Winchester decided to stay at home to be with his family and his best friend, Castiel Novak. But Castiel wanted to go and explore the real world, something other than the plain Kansas town that he had known his whole life. Dean, desperate to keep Cas with him, makes a deal with his blue eyed friend: give him a month and he would show Cas all of the wonders of staying in his hometown with Dean. But unbeknownst to them, within that month, they would find something more than friendship and more than one reason to stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Don't Leave Me

Six years ago, Lawrence, Kansas

The car bounced along the gravel road, Dean Winchester's golden brown hair bouncing along with it. He fixed his glasses, peering out of the window and at the large school that loomed in front of the car. Sam, his little brother, gasped.

"Dean! That place is so big!" He said in awe.

Dean gulped. It really wasn't, it was actually quite small for a middle school, but all he had known previously was the minuscule Lawrence Elementary, which was half the size of Lawrence Middle.

"Dean, do you have your lunch box?"

"Yeah mom," he replied as they pulled into the parking lot.

"And your backpack?" His mother worried.

"Mom, I have everything. Stop worrying, I'll be fine!" Dean unbuckled his seatbelt, opening the passenger side door. A hand grabbed his arm before he could hop out of the car.

"My big boy going into 6th grade," his mom cried, pulling him in for an awkward car hug. "Be good, kiddo."

"I will mom," Dean said, his face pushed against his moms. "Now let me go, you're gonna embarrass me."

"Of course, of course." She let go of his arm and smiled sadly. "Have a good day, I'll pick you up later!"

"Bye." Dean rolled his eyes, jumping out of the embarrassing minivan and walking across the crosswalk. Kids swarmed the entrance of the school, everyone seeming to know each other.  
Dean stood in the back of the crowd, looking for Benny or Garth, his best friends, didn’t see either one. Then he remembered that they rode the bus, so he was most likely going to end up alone. But Dean still looked for any familiar faces. Even Jo would be welcome, and she was annoying. 

He scuffed his new Chucks on the sidewalk, looking down at his feet until the gates opened. This was not what Dean had expected, the 8th graders were so big and there was no one here he knew.

After milling around for a few minutes, the bell finally rang and the gate was pulled up. A rush of children pushed Dean into the school, stumbling over his new shoes and hitting a few kids in the process.

"Watch it kid," a large student growled, throwing Dean a disgusted look. He blushed, mumbling an apology. The older boy just rolled his eyes and walked away, whispering to one of his friends. 

Dean looked sadly at his feet, forcing tears back into his eyes. Wiping his eyes fiercely, he put on a game face. He couldn't be a baby here, at least not where people could see.

Someone caught his shoulder. "Don't mind Michael and his crew, they're just angsty and have napoleon complexes."

"Huh?" Dean turned around and was met with a girl with short dark red hair. She was wearing jeans and a maroon hoodie and a smile on her face.

"I'm Celeste, but no one calls me that." She beamed. She was a few inches taller than Dean, looking down at him with a pleasant expression.

"Then what do they call you?" Dean tilted his head to the side.

"Charlie. Charlie Bradbury."

"Oh. Hi Charlie, I'm Dean Winchester." He smiled awkwardly at the girl.

"6th grade?" Charlie asked, beginning to walk forward. Dean followed, not knowing what else to do. And he kinda liked Charlie.

"Yeah."

"Me too," she stated, her hair swinging above her shoulders. "I just moved here a month ago from Seattle."

"Why on earth would you leave Seattle for Kansas?" Dean asked in shock. They turned a corner.

"Well my parents passed away and my aunt lives here, so I moved in with her."

"Who's your aunt?" Dean questioned. "I might know her, I've lived here my whole life."

"Her name is Rowena and I hate her. Especially my cousin, Crowley. They're so rude and annoying, god I wish I didn’t have to live with those crazies." Charlie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what class do you have first?"

"Um... pre-algebra," Dean said. He knew Rowena from his Mom's friend, Ms. Tran. She would always tell his mother about how the red headed woman was very tricky and her son gave Kevin a hard time. Kevin Tran was a few years younger than Dean, the same age as Sam. They would be starting fourth grade together today.

"Oh," she frowned. "I have language arts. Nice to meet you though! You should sit with me and my friends at lunch."

"Uh, I'll see," Dean stammered, thinking about Benny and Garth. Would he ditch them to sit with this new girl? They were kinda mean to him.

"Ok!" She replied cheerily. "Bye, Dean!"

"Bye, Charlie." He waved as she disappeared down the hall. He remembered where the pre-algebra room was from the orientation, so he started the route to get there, ducking his head as he walked quickly. The warning bell rang through the hallway and he picked up his pace.

Upon arriving to the classroom, he sat in the nearest seat, dropping his overstuffed bag onto the ground and fixing his glasses. The teacher, a short woman named Miss Mosely smiled at the students. A few kids scrambled into the classroom right as the bell rang, sliding into different seats.

"Hello, class and welcome to your first day at Lawrence Middle. I'm Miss Mosely, most of you know me already, and this year I will be showing you the wonders of pre-algebra to get you prepped for the real deal next year." She picked up a piece of paper off her desk. "I'm going to call attendance, but this class is pretty small so it shouldn't take too long."

Dean zoned out a little bit, knowing he would be called later because of his last name being so far back in the alphabet. At least his last name wasn't Zohler, like Marie's was. That would suck.

"Dean Winchester?" Miss Mosely called out.

"Here!" Dean said and raised his hand.

"Okay class, I guess Mr. Novak will not be showing up, so let's continue..."

Novak. The name rung familiar in Dean's mind. Wasn't Novak the last name of that one family who lived in the mansion? The ones who were never really seen except for Anna, the oldest sister when she bought groceries? Rumor had it that the Novaks were vampires that had killed all those people back in 2001. Dean knew the truth, though. His dad was close with one of the Novaks assistants, Mr. Brown. Brown told his father that all of the kids were homeschooled because their mother didn't want them to experience the real world. Dean guessed that middle school was too tough to homeschool, which is why one of the children was supposed to be here. 

Dean was snapped out of his daydream by the door opening and a young boy bursting into the room.

"I'm sorry Miss Mosely! We couldn't find the school!"

Couldn't find the school! It's the only of building other than the high school within a ten mile radius! If this is the Novak kid, though, he wouldn't know.

"That's alright. Are you Castiel Novak?" Miss Mosely asked kindly. The kid, Castiel, nodded. 

"Okay, then. Have a seat."

The only empty chair was next to Dean so Castiel set his stuff down and slid into the chair. Dean got a closer look at him. He was wearing a long sleeved white button up with a dark and light blue sweater vest over it. A blue tie rested between the collar of his button up and the neckline of the sweater. He had unruly dark waves and the largest, bluest eyes that Dean had ever seen shining behind thick framed glasses that were similar to Dean’s. He glanced at Dean, smiling a little. He didn’t have braces like Dean, just two rows of straight, white teeth.

"I'm- uh, I'm Dean," Dean stuttered softly.

"Castiel, of course," the boy replied, chuckling quietly. Dean smiled, his braces scratching lightly at his top lip. He turned back to his desk and trained his focus on Miss Mosely.

Maybe sixth grade wasn't going to be so bad.  
-  
Now

"DAMMIT CAS!" The tall dirty blonde hair boy wrestled the video recorder out of the short dark haired boy’s grasp. The shorter boys blue eyes sparkled with humor and he fought back, pulling the tall one down with him into the grass.

"No, Dean, you're not deleting the video!"

The two wrestled on the ground some more, acquiring sticks and dirt in their hair, laughing the whole time. Both of their glasses fell off on the process, laying in the bright green grass beside them.

"Dean! Castiel! Dinner is ready!" A blond woman stepped out into the yard, pursing her lips and shaking her head at the two boys on the ground.

"Okay Mrs. Winchester! Just get your son off of me!" Cas called back, pinning Dean to the ground. 

"Never mind, I got him."

Dean rolled his eyes, going limp. "Coming, Mom."

Cas smirked at him, leaning down and grabbing the recorder from out of the dirt and brushing it off. Dean just stared at him, a small smile playing on his lips. He slid the glasses back onto Cas' nose and mirrored the action on himself, still grinning at the boy on top of him. The two raced back into the house, pushing each other around and laughing. 

"Dinner smells lovely, Ma," Cas said, kissing Mary on the cheek, making her blush.

"Thank you Castiel, if only Dean was so kind." She glared at Dean. He shrugged and smiled.

"Everything you make is good, Ma."

They all sat down, waiting for Sam and John to come to the table.

"So Castiel, any plans for after graduating?" Mary asked, fixing the napkin on her plate.

Cas looked down and played with his fingers. "Uh, not really."

Dean licked his lips awkwardly, avoiding his mother’s and best friend’s gazes. "Yeah, me too."

"Dean I thought you were just talking about how you-"

"No mom," Dean cut her off, giving his mother a hard stare. "I wasn't talking about anything."

"Oh," Mary said softly. "Okay."

The tension in the room from then on was extremely thick, once John and Sam arrived they filled the holes of silence, but something was still off. Cas' laughs were forced, and Dean's eyes held fear and worry. Mary just flicked her gaze back in forth between the two of them, her mother senses tingling. They weren't telling her something.

After dinner, Dean and Cas helped clear and wipe the table, gently dropping the dishes into the sink. They didn't speak, just worked together in unison. Mary came up behind them after a few minutes and hugged both of them at once, squeezing their shoulders tight.

When she pulled away, she asked, "Castiel, would you like to stay over tonight?"

Cas looked at Dean and swallowed. "Only if Dean wants me to."

"Of course I do," Dean said quickly. Mary smiled and smacked their butts.

"Go now," she ordered. "Talk it out and I'll wash these dishes."

"Yes ma'am," the two boys chorused, leaving the kitchen and running down to the basement, where Dean's room was.

"I'm so sorry," Cas said, leaning his forehead on Dean's shoulder as the taller boy unlocked his door and opened it. Dean was silent, closing the door behind Cas and locking it again. Cas looked around the neat, dimly lit room and sighed, facing his friend. "I just can't, you know that right?"

"I know it, I just don't want it to be true."

"I've lived my whole life under Naomi's constant gaze and rules. I need an adventure, I need something unfamiliar." Cas' voice took on pleading tone. "Dean, I can't stay with you."

"Cas..." Dean ran his fingers through his hair, closing his eyes, willing tears not to fall. "I can't leave. Not now, not ever. This is our home! My mom is getting older... and I can't say goodbye to her when I'm halfway around the world! Please, Cas, you're my best friend, like my brother!"

Cas winced at that, his face turning red. "I know."

"I understand that you need adventure. I know how uptight your mom is. I get how your siblings are gone too. But you mean the world to me Castiel Novak!" Dean raised his voice. "If I'm here and you're there... I'll die!"

Cas flinched. "Don't say that. Please don't say that."

Dean grabbed his face and stared into Cas' dark blue eyes, pulling his eyebrows together. "I mean it. You're everything to me, and I’m not even trying to be dramatic. You're my brother Cas, just as much as Sam is."

Again, Cas got a weird look in his eyes, placing his hands on Dean's and pushing them softly off his cheeks. Both of them sighed.

"I know," Cas said softly, looking down. "Let's just enjoy ourselves now, please."

"Of course Cas, of course." 

The two were now laying on their stomachs in Dean's bed flipping through last year's yearbook. Dean pointed to a picture of a group of kids.

"God, remember that?" He laughed.

Cas lifted the yearbook up a little bit and began cracking up at the picture. "Yes, oh my god. Charlie and Balth's world history project presentation."

"And Charlie thought LARPing a gay romance scene from Ancient Greece would be a good idea."

"Hey," Cas nudged Dean's arm, "I think we portrayed the parts quite well."

"Yeah, Mr. 'if our love is wrong... I don't wanna be right!'" Dean feigned a dramatic sigh, placing the back of his hand on his forehead.

"It was in the script! And I think I squeezed out some tears!" Cas protested.

"Of course," Dean smirked, closing the book and throwing it to the side. The bed bounced as he readjusted himself, laying on his side facing Cas. "I can't wait for this year's yearbook tomorrow."

"I'm so ready. My senior picture is hot," Cas said, facing Dean on his side, mirroring the other boy's action.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Any picture of you is hot, Cas."

Cas sucked in his cheeks in an attempt to hide his blush. "That's not true, Dean."

"Oh come on, you're smokin'!"

Cas averted his gaze down to the bedsheets and thought for a few seconds. Then he jerked his head up and smirked at Dean. "I still have that video, by the way."

"Nooooooo!" Dean yowled, rolling on his back and pretending to throw a temper tantrum. "That's unfair! Now you have blackmail!"

"Your singing voice is beautiful, Dean," Cas said. "Honestly."

"I sounded like a dead frog," Dean deadpanned. "Delete it."

Cas shook his head. "Nope."

"Pleeeeasssseee?" Dean begged, flipping over on top of Cas, squishing him. "Delete it!"

"Get off of me you brick!" Cas huffed, shoving Dean off of his stomach.

"Come on Caaaaassss," he whined.

Cas beamed. "Never."


	2. Superlatives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New characters are introduced and old ones return... we also find out who Dean is dating and a little bit on why Cas is acting so strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy!

"Dean, get up, we need to get ready." Cas gently shook his sleeping friend, smiling as Dean growled and flipped a pillow over his head. Cas sat crisscrossed on the bed, his hair wild and his eyes still puffy from sleep.

"Don't wanna," Dean mumbled into the pillow.

"No one does," Cas admitted, "but you have to. Come on." He grabbed Dean's armpits and pulled him up. Dean just flopped down onto Cas' lap and smiled contently.

"Lemme sleep."

Cas stood up, dumping Dean back onto the bed. "Get up or I'm getting your mom," he threatened.   
Dean slithered out of bed and landed on his butt.

"Crap, let's get ready. You have clothes?" Dean asked, now alert at the mention of his mother. 

Cas laughed and shook his head.

"No. Borrow?"

"Of course, but I get to pick it out." Dean grinned mischievously.  
-

Dean and Cas walked into school, Dean with a huge grin on his face and Cas blushing. The dark haired boy was clad in dark jeans, a loose grey shirt, and a dark leather jacket. He was wearing Dean's nice boots and his hair was messed up. Dean smiled proudly at his masterpiece and looped his arm through his best friend's and dragged him into school. They still had plenty of time until school began.

"Charlie!" Dean called, running up to the redhead with Cas still by his side. "How'd the yearbook turn out?"

Charlie looked away guiltily. "Uh... great." She was shorter than Dean now, but still his friend. She was also the yearbook supervisor, and a professional fangirl.

"You don't sound too sure about that," Castiel said, raising an eyebrow.

Charlie glanced away suspiciously. "I gotta go, bye." She sped off in the direction of the courtyard, her satchel flying behind her.

Castiel and Dean looked at each other and shrugged.

They continued to walk down the hall, people looking weirdly at them. "What are they staring at?"   
Dean muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"Is it my clothes?" Castiel whispered back. 

Dean shook his head. "Nah, you look hot."

"Gosh, Dean." Castiel's face went red. He ducked his head and smiled to himself. 

Dean smiled at him, then looked down the hallway, his eyes searching for someone. Cas cringed, knowing exactly who he was looking for. 

Dean’s face lit up, dropping Cas’ arm and running towards the dirty blond jock that was coming their way. They shared a kiss, Benny having to stand on his tiptoes because Dean was so tall. They smiled at each and shared some words, Benny chuckling at something Dean had said. 

Cas averted his gaze, swallowing hard to distract himself. They were happy together, and if Dean was happy, Cas was happy. But why does seeing them together make him so sad? Cas felt a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face the unknown person.

“Are you okay, mate?” It was Balth with his unforgettable accent. 

“Nothing,” Cas said quickly, crossing his arms. 

“Ha, that’s a lie, Castiel. And we both know it.” Balth’s usual joking face was serious, one eyebrow arched in a questioning manner. 

“I don’t know…” Cas caved in. “I just… I don’t think Dean and Benny are meant for each other, you know?”

“They seem like they really love each other,” Balth said.

“I know… but isn’t it suspicious to you? How quickly they got together, how Benny would hardly give him the time of day until we were juniors?” Cas was talking quickly. “Something about it isn’t right.”

“I think,” Balth drawled, “that’s not the reason you don’t like their relationship.”

“Not true!” Cas said defensively. “I just get a bad feeling, that’s all.”

“Of course,” Balth said sarcastically. “You’re totally not butt crazy in love with your best friend.”

“No!” Cas shouted, attracting a few stares, including Dean and Benny. Dean patted his boyfriend’s shoulder and said goodbye, walking towards Cas and Balth. 

“You okay Cas?” He asked, concern lacing his voice. 

“I’m fine, Dean.” Cas linked their arms together. “Can we please just go to class?”

“Of course.”

Cas watched Balth shake his head as they walked away, entering the crowded main hall.

People were still staring at them, some laughing, some with confused faces, and some who just looked surprised. Castiel held on tighter to Dean's arm, curling into the taller boy in a shy manner. 

"This is so damn weird," Dean muttered to Castiel, holding him closer. He didn't feel the short boy shiver at his touch. 

"Guys, congrats!" Kevin, Dean's other best friend waved, approaching the two. "I had no idea!"

Dean and Castiel looked at each other with confused looks. "Huh?" They chorused. 

Kevin chuckled. "It's okay, the secret's out, no need to keep anything from us anymore. I still don't know why you never told me."

"Dude," Dean said, "I seriously don't know what you're talking about."

"The yearbook superlatives?" Kevin raised an eyebrow. 

Dean perked up. "Did I win most good looking?" 

"Actually, Michael won that."

"No fair! He got held back he shouldn't be allowed to win," Castiel protested. 

"Dude, the guy is smoking, what did you expect?" Kevin rolled his eyes. "You haven't seen it yet?"  
They shook their heads. 

"Okay, one sec." Kevin flipped his backpack around and shuffled through it, pulling out the sheer yearbook. "Take a look."

Dean grabbed it and flipped to the end where the superlatives were listed. And there, in big black font, read the words Cutest Couple: Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak. 

"What the hell!" Dean sputtered. “Benny’s gonna be so pissed!

"Lemme see." Castiel grabbed the book out of Dean's hands. When he saw the picture, he gasped. "I'm going to kick her ass!"

"That's why she took the picture the other day!" Dean shouted. 

“It wasn’t for her senior year scrapbook!”

 

“That bitch!”

"Wait, you guys aren’t dating?" Kevin asked. 

“Of course not, I have Benny and Cas isn’t even gay!” Dean handed the book back to Kevin.

“Then who put that in there?”

“Charlie!”

-


	3. Little Brothers Know Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kinda short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! School starts for me tomorrow so updates will probably be less frequent.

“Dean!” An angry shout echoed over the cafeteria, making Cas jump. Him and Dean were sitting with their thighs pressed up against each other, Dean talking animatedly about his new tape player for his car and Cas watching him with a little smile on his face. They both looked up when they heard the shout. 

“Oh no,” Dean whispered, sliding away from Cas quickly. It was Benny, purple with rage and stomping towards their table, slamming the yearbook down onto it. 

“Dean, what the fuck is this?” He growled, pointing to the ‘Cutest Couple’ page. 

“My friend Charlie, uh, she did it as a joke because… um, I guess she thought Cas and I would be good together? I don’t know,” Dean stammered. 

Benny looked downright pissed. “Dean, everyone’s gonna think that we aren’t real. And then I’ll lose th- I mean I’ll lose you.”

“What were you going to say?” Castiel spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” Benny said defensively. 

“You said that you were going to lose something else, what was-”

“Cas, drop it.” Dean stood up, lightly shoving his best friend. “Benny said he didn’t want to lose me, that’s all. Leave it be, it isn’t your relationship.”

Cas flinched, looking down at the table. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but he furiously wiped them away, looking up just in time to watch Benny drag Dean away by his arm. Cas went to stand up but felt a hand on his arm. 

“Not the time,” Sam said softly, sitting down next to him. Cas sighed and relaxed, slumping back into his chair. Sam sent him a reassuring smile his way and started eating his sandwich. 

“When will the time be?” Cas whined. “Everyone around me seems to either think that I need to stay away from him or get closer.”

“What do you mean?” Sam tilted his head. 

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Cas said dismissively. 

“Well, you guys graduate soon, then you can open the shop you’ve been talking about for ages. Remember?” Sam grinned, nudging Cas’ shoulder. 

“How could I forget?” Cas caved in and smiled a bit. “Dean and Cas’ record bookstore.”

“Dean was so excited about it.” Sam took another bite of his sandwich, chewing quickly and swallowing. “You know, between you and me, he was already looking at buildings for it.”

“He was?” Castiel’s chest went warm, the feeling spreading up his neck and to his ears.   
“Yeah. He said it would be the first of it’s kind. A bookstore and record store all in one.”

“I’m sure those already exist,” Cas said modestly. 

“Not in Lawrence they don’t.”

“That’s the thing,” Cas said abruptly. “I’m not staying in Lawrence.”

“You’re not?” Sam almost choked on his food. “Does Dean know?”

“Yeah, and he doesn’t like it.” Cas set his head down on the table, running his fingers aimlessly on the surface. “I don’t know what to do, Sam.”

“Here’s some advice: do what you need to, even if it isn’t what you want.” Sam stood up, thumping Cas on the shoulder. “I know you’ll do what’s right.”

“I just don’t want to,” Cas mumbled as he watched the tall boy walk away, throwing his trash into the garbage can. “I just don’t want to.”


End file.
